South Korean court: Nephew's weapon defense against abusive uncle may be justifiable

South Korea's Supreme Court has ruled that a nephew's act of confronting his uncle with a weapon, after being assaulted by the uncle who had previously sexually assaulted him as a child, could be considered justifiable self-defense. The ruling overturns a lower court's decision that had found the nephew guilty of special intimidation.

The incident occurred in January 2023 when the nephew, a man in his 30s, informed his family that his uncle, in his 70s, had sexually assaulted him during his childhood. Enraged by this revelation, the uncle went to the nephew's home, assaulted him, and threw furniture before threatening him with a weapon. The nephew retaliated by brandishing a weapon and challenging his uncle.

Both the nephew and uncle faced legal proceedings, with the nephew charged with special intimidation and the uncle with assault. The first court found the nephew guilty and fined him 3 million won. The uncle was fined 5 million won for assault. The appellate court upheld the nephew's conviction but reduced his sentence to a suspended 1-year prison term, acknowledging that the nephew's claim of self-defense was not accepted.

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The 30-something nephew confronting the 70-something uncle, who unilaterally visited his home and suddenly assaulted him, was an act performed in passive and defensive measures against an unjust attack, and it did not exceed the scope of what is socially acceptable.

However, the Supreme Court disagreed with the lower courts' interpretation of the law. The court stated that the nephew's act of holding a weapon should not be the sole basis for denying justifiable self-defense. The court emphasized that the nephew, a woman in her 30s, was responding to a sudden, unprovoked attack by a 70-year-old man who had entered her home.

A Supreme Court official explained that in situations of domestic violence, the use of a weapon defensively should be assessed by considering the specific circumstances that led to the act, rather than isolating the moment itself. The court ruled that the nephew's actions, taken in passive and defensive measures against an unjust attack, did not exceed socially acceptable boundaries.

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In a situation of mutual domestic violence, when a weapon is held defensively, the court must determine whether the act constitutes justifiable self-defense by comprehensively considering the specific circumstances that led to the act, not just the moment itself.